Em Bailey

Shift Olive Corbett is not crazy Not any She obediently takes her meds and stays under the radar at school After the incident Olive just wants to avoid any trouble so she knows the smartest thing is to st

Title: Shift

Author: Em Bailey

ISBN: 9781921564390

Page: 264

Format: Paperback

Olive Corbett is not crazy Not any.She obediently takes her meds and stays under the radar at school After the incident, Olive just wants to avoid any trouble, so she knows the smartest thing is to stay clear of the new girl who is rud to have quite the creepy past.But there s no avoiding Miranda Vaile As mousy Miranda edges her way into the popular groupOlive Corbett is not crazy Not any.She obediently takes her meds and stays under the radar at school After the incident, Olive just wants to avoid any trouble, so she knows the smartest thing is to stay clear of the new girl who is rud to have quite the creepy past.But there s no avoiding Miranda Vaile As mousy Miranda edges her way into the popular group, right up to the side of queen bee Katie and pushes the others right out only Olive seems to notice that something strange is going on Something almost parasitic Either Olive is losing her grip on reality, or Miranda Vaile is stealing Katie s life.But who would ever believe crazy Olive, the girl who has a habit of letting her imagination run away with her And what if Olive is the next target A chilling psychological thriller that tears through themes of identity, loss, and toxic friendship, Shift will leave readers guessing until the final pages.

One thought on “Shift”

Wow. This book practically threw me off balance. The story itself is amazing with a lot of twists and turns. If you've read my IMM 25, you would probably know that this book is soaked wet, and I spent hours drying it. And that was when I couldn't help but took a peek and instantly, I was hooked.Our main character Olive is a beautiful, witty, sarcastic but problematic teenage girl. Ever since her father left, she has not been the same as her old self. She is convinced that she is the reason of he [...]

1.5 starsEasily my biggest disappointment of 2012 so far.I was so excited for "Shift." So excited. I love psychological thrillers and horror novels, and "Shift" sounded like it had a nice combination of both. Besides, look at that amazing cover! It's beautiful and so evocative and creepy.I read it quickly. I'll give Bailey that. But, in all fairness, I was on a five-hour flight home from Turkey. The only thing that saved it from a one-star rating was a twist at the halfway point that I totally d [...]

Shift by Em Bailey was an extraordinarily gripping read. I loved every moment of it and I will definitely be keeping my eye out for future works by her.The story follows the life of Olive, a girl who, following a recent breakdown and suicide attempt, has been put on a course of medication and therapy. She integrates herself back into a routine by attending school and working at the local cinema.However, she no longer has any friends. Except for Ami. Olive's old best friend, Katie, has now ditche [...]

1.5/5Subtlety is not this book's strong suit so, this wasn't that much of a psychological thriller. Obviously there’s a history here with everyone aware but having the same go unspoken. Yet, with the big ginormous hints littering the path toward the reveal, there really was no thrill for me in this one. At points, I even felt a little insulted by how it seemed someone had taken my hand and positioned my just so, as if saying, ‘see this? this is the way things went down; and that? that is why [...]

(This is more of a 4.5 star kind of book)Every time I've seen Shift in the store, I've always picked it up and put it back down and it wasn't until my housemate and I discovered a mutual love for YA that I actually read it because she lent it to me. You need to read this. It was edgy, gripping, original, funny, emotional, frustrating and it had everything that makes a great novel. It's a story about a girl named Olive, who is now a little messed up in the head and on medication after a failed su [...]

Oh My God. There are almost no words to describe my state of mind after reading 'Shift'. Em Bailey should be applauded, and I am definitely grateful for her impeccable writing skills that never once failed to leave me questioning my own sanity.This genre wasn't one I'd usually take to, but this book just begging me to read it, and so I did. I was pleasantly surprised. All the characters were written so well- Miranda always left me wondering. Was she just a psychotic girl, suffering from her desp [...]

This was one CREEPY book! Half way through the book I was in this state:Despite it's obvious creepiness I couldn't put it down.So Olive was this typical once-popular-now-loner kid with issues, but what those issues were was not so clear in the beginning. At times I was totally frustrated with her and I was screaming at the book what are you doing??? and yes I was totally scared of the people in the book!I just had chills all over! and by the time I finished I was doubting my own reality I'll be [...]

4.5 StarsI absolutely loved this! I just grabbed this at the library because it was available, and I was sick of waiting on titles, and now I'm so glad I did! I went into it not really knowing what to expect because none of the people I follow have read this (and I hope that changes after this review because it's a great book!), and usually I prefer to go into things knowing a bit more about what to expect, but it was fun to be taken by surprise for once.The story is about Olive who has some qui [...]

Miranda Vaile is the strong point of this young adult novel. It is well worth reading for her alone. Miranda is offered to us, on the one hand, as a supernatural demon and on the other as a rolled-gold bitch who is disturbed and rageful, but also charming to the nth degree. For good measure, she can also be seen as the symbol of a destructive inner voice, enticing one unlucky girl into anorexia. Whatever she is exactly, Miranda has the psychopaths’s ability to pinpoint and play to our longings [...]

Okay, so I decided I'd give this book to someone else before I reviewed it. Just because, well, I wasn't sure whether I wasn't getting it because I am stupid, or whether I wasn't getting it because I wasn't SUPPOSED to get it. Turns out, either we're both stupid, or it's just one of those books.You know the ones I'm talking about the ones with the fantastic writing, brilliant prose, life-like characters those books that leave you SO UTTERLY CONFUSED!So basically, the story settles itself quite t [...]

There are spoilers. This is an intelligent discussion of the text. Deal with it.Wow.This book was intense and very taught, although it became a little too neat towards the center when Olive stops suspecting Miranda of being "evil" and just becomes buddy-buddy. But then again, with Olive suspecting that Miranda is something insidious, isn't that how this story should go? Letting your guard down and letting the insidious in because you no longer suspect it?The story is that of Olive Corbett, a gir [...]

5 stars out of five. For a reason:Shift by Em Bailey is one of my all-time favourite books. It's full of gripping twists that will never leave you bored.The first half of the book will make you love Olive. The second half will have you mentally screaming at every decision she makes! (But I won't give away anything)Lachlan is such a sweetie and so is Luxe (the romance sides to the book) yet this book is far from your usual romance story. Yep. There's even death.Murder.Psychologically mental peopl [...]

2.5 out of 5 stars. Shift was a really easy and enjoyable read, I loved the idea of the book and a few of the characters were great (Ami, Lachlan and Toby especially). However, the main character Olive was an IDIOT! At first I liked her, but she makes the wrong decision in regards to Miranda and Lachlan EVERY. SINGLE. TIME!!!!! I found the whole toxic friendship thing quite realistic and relatable (in regards to Katie, not necessarily Miranda). One big drawback for me was I guessed the big twist [...]

Review posted at Amaterasu ReadsEm Bailey's chilling psychological YA thriller debut is sure to make readers think twice about letting people get close too much. The bonds of friendship is stretched tight up to the breaking point in this shuddery tale of one girl's identity and her struggle to find out who she really is deep inside.Olivia Corbett's life is a wreck. She used to be best friends with Katie, the most popular girl in school. She used to be pretty, outgoing, with a happy family, but a [...]

From reading everyone else's reviews about this book it seems people either love it or hate it. Me? Yeah, I didn't like it very much. I picked it up just randomly from the book store because it was half price (i'm actually glad I didn't pay full price for it really) and also because it sounded like it would be really good, and the cover is pretty awesome too. But it was officially just the weirdest book I'd ever read, it was so strange. Also I was pretty disappointed to find out that the back of [...]

Hmm. TOTALLY not what I was expecting. Although now to be fair I'm not sure WHAT I was expecting. The reason for the 3* rating is that to me it feels like a fair one. Some parts of this book for me were facepalm 1* and some parts of this for me were sheer brilliance 5* Nothing like sitting on the fenceAnyway on the plus side I read this cover to cover in one sitting, it is an addictive tale and one that has many surprises. The main story revolves around Olive, who is recovering from a breakdown. [...]

I felt so let down by this book. I had been SUPER excited to read it, and I had heard such good things. But there were too many things lacking for me.The story line. Original. Amazing. I should have loved it. But other than the base story-line, of Miranda 'becoming' other people, none of the smaller story lines fit. I felt as though the romance between Lachlan and Olive was completely forgotten about, and then all that was talked about. Which was a shame because I really liked Lachlan and would [...]

Right. I'm going to bullet point my thoughts because CBA to articulate them properly. I'm just too angry.I had really high hopes for this book. I really thought I would like it. That said, I did like Lachlan. I just wish I could have gotten more of the romance I was promised (granted, I DNF'd this book so I can't speak for it, but I did skim read to the scene where they kiss and it was good. That's one of the best scenes in the whole book.) Ok, so here's what i didn't like:Underdeveloped charact [...]

Woah. That is all I can say. This book is absolutely phenomenal in every aspect. While I was on holidays I went to a book shop looking for something to entertain me on my upcoming 6 hour drive. This book was reccomended to me by a woman there. Now I usually don't go for the supernatural stuff but I gave it a go. This book was an exception. Absolutely FANTASTIC!!!!!You feel so drawn to the characters and as soon as you have read the first two pages you will be filled with anticipation and your ey [...]

This book freaked me out at first to be honest, but I really liked it. It was interesting and I just didn't know what to expect. Even now that I've finished it I have no idea what Miranda actually was or what to expect

Full review and Guest post from Em Bailey at Pen to Paper.Shift was, at least for me, a fairly confusing novel in a couple of ways. However, both of these ways are positive, if that makes any sense.The first confusing thing about the book is the genre. It masquerades itself as a kind of YA contemporary fiction, but it definitely has a strong fantastical feel to it. I say 'fantastical' and not 'fantasy' because we can't be sure whether what we're looking at it reality or not - hardly anything is [...]

Miranda Vaile was infamous long before she set foot in the small suburb of Jubilee Park. Stories about Miranda were swirling in the weeks prior to her arrival – stories about her life in Europe, the crazy aunt she was coming to live with . . . and the fact that she had killed her parents.The attention and attraction of Miranda is a reprise for Jubilee Park’s resident psychotic – Olive Corbett. Olive, whose family life has disintegrated in the wake of her ‘mistakes’ and recovery from ci [...]

Olive used to be popular. Now she isn't, but we're not told exactly why. However, her ex-best friend Katie is a crucial part of her story.When new girl Miranda moves to the school people are convinced she murdered her parents. Slowly, she ingratiated herself into the school environment and soon becomes friends with those people that Olive is so suspicious of.Through a number of events/devices we get to know just what Miranda is capable of. The question is whether Olive will trust herself in time [...]

So, I was absolutely amazed by this creepy novel, and NONE of my friends have read this?! It's not even newly published novel (2011!)Review's on the way.---Updated (20/11/2014)---What I really like about this book:It’s not a series. ‘Nuf said.The writing style. It flows nicely, the pace is just great, all is revealed in the right time. But, most of all, it’s a unique, distinguishable, smart writing style. I certainly will keep my eyes open for Em Bailey’s next novels.And I laughed good- [...]

Review originally posted here: tsanasreads.tumblr/post/21Shift is full of psychological drama and there is blurring of reality so you’re not always sure what’s real and what isn’t. It’s also a book about mental illness about being weird and about dealing (or not) with those things.I really loved it.Honestly, there was only one aspect I disliked about it and it’s not the sort of thing that would bother everyone. The author is Australian (this is her first YA book, but she has written bo [...]

Wellwhere to start? I had high expectations for this book. It was who listed for some award, and I picked it up off of the 'highlights' table at a book club I go to, but what I read was far from what I had expected! By page 50 (out of 320), I knew the entire plot line. And you know those 'oh' moments? I got one of those in the entire book, which anyway wasn't much of an 'oh' so much as 'ah yeah, damn that sucks'! Miranda, the new girl, well being what supernatural capture she was didn't even hel [...]